One Family's Sustainable Farming Experiences in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, USA

Monday, February 09, 2009

Ed's 22 Today!

I can't believe my E-man is 22 today! I keep remembering the one time we heard him speak. He was 4, and Tom and I were both in the kitchen when Ed came buzzing into the room. Those were the years of the bull-in-the-china-cabinet and speed-racer behaviors. We heard him say, "my mom and dad" as clear as a bell. He had the cutest voice. Tom and I stopped what we were doing and looked at each other as if to say, "did you hear what I thought I heard?". And the next moment, Ed buzzed out of the room and the enchanted moment was over. I will never forget that. Ed's "buzzing" behaviors are long gone and now replaced with increasingly repetitive actions. He makes noises, but he no longer speaks intelligible words. The difficulties faced by a parent of an autistic child change with the years, but the bittersweet experiences of such a life grant an indescribable wealth to the soul. I wouldn't trade my life for anything. Happy Birthday, Eddy! (He likes the Jonathan Goldman CDs!)

Tom and I managed to tap 10 maple trees yesterday. It was tough going through the snow drifts -- hip high in some places. The sap is starting to run. Today, we are having rain drizzle and I expect the sap to start for sure so tomorrow Tom and I will finish setting out the rest of the taps. I plan to go to town and get a couple of steel garbage cans to store the sap in until we can boil it down. I will bury the cans in snow and that will keep the sap cold enough.

Thanks to Homeopath for the comment. I'm glad you enjoy our farm blog. I look forward to reading the posts on your blog! I've been treating my family with homeopathy since 1991 and am a strong believer in it. I just with I could get remedies locally instead of only through the Internet!

Well, Tom and Ed should be back soon with the birthday cake and pizzas, so I'll leave off for now. Have a great day, Everybody, and take care!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Rebuild America -- Buy American

Swamp Creek

About Our Farm

Swamp Creek Farm is part of my family's Homestead Act farm. My family has been farming this land since 1892. We are located near the Turtle Flambeau Flowage in the beautiful Heritage Area of Iron County, Wisconsin. We care what you eat and grow what we sell. Our heirloom or open pollinated produce is sustainably grown and available in season. When we have them, we also sell chickens and eggs from our flock of Dominique chickens. We are working on building our infrastructure and developing a diverse fruit and nut orchard; we are "into" permaculture! We sell from our farm and at local farmers markets only. We do not give tours at this time.